Austin is a member of the Chicoran Shakori tribe of South Carolina. As part of the Great Migration of the 60s, some Shakori and other peoples of color walked away from sharecropping by migrating to the northeast “for the good union jobs”. Growing up as a Two-Spirit urban native in the Simsbury area of Hartford, Austin has found himself at powerful intersections between the forces of Technology and Globalization.

During and after pursuing his degree in Technology and Globalization at NYU Gallatin, Austin continued to enhance his Product Design skills as the Chicoran Shakori Tribal Web Developer and the Lead Product Designer at Up2Code, ZED Aerospace, and Blue World Inc. While pursuing his degree at Gallatin, Austin worked for Apple at one of their HQ locations, and observed the structural changes presently roiling the global economy firsthand. Finding himself at another powerful global crossroads, Austin is currently focused on the intersections between Indigenous communities, Sustainability, and Product Design.

Sutton King, MPH, Nāēqtaw-Pianakiw (comes first woman), is the co-founder, president and chairperson of UIC and the Co-Founder of ShockTalk. Sutton King MPH, a descendant of the Menominee and Oneida Nations of Wisconsin, is a nationally recognized Afro-Indigenous public health leader and social entrepreneur.

Her commitment to scaling innovative solutions that support mental health access and benefit sharing for Indigenous peoples is achieving change and gaining national recognition along the way. From amNewYork to The New York Times, her impact continues to grow and her dedication continues to heal those around her. In 2020, Sutton was named a New York visionary and nominated as a David Prize finalist. She is a MIT Indigenous Solve fellow and a 3x NYU Fellow participating in the NYU ignite alpha and beta fellowships. In 2021, she was named an NYU Female Founder and “one of the 100 most influential people in psychedelics” by Psychedelic Invest and PsychedStudio.

Ariel is a descendant of the Indigenous people of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Ariel is a doctoral student at Columbia University School of Social Work working within the Social Intervention Group (SIG), under the direction of Associate Professor Louisa Gilbert. Her focus is on intimate partner violence prevention at the intersection of drug and alcohol use, community-based participatory research, and working collaboratively with Indigenous and Native communities.

Previously, she worked as an Impact Evaluator at the Administration for Native Americans where she worked directly with community-based organizations developing logic models, evaluation plans, data collection tools, and processes at a community-specific level and across a diverse set of communities. She is fiercely committed to addressing gender-based issues at large, especially gender-based violence, and has over seven years of experience within domestic violence organizations, sexual assault resource centers, and economic enhancement programs for survivors of trafficking and domestic violence. Ariel is the co-founder of the Indigenous- and womxn-led coalition, Rising Hearts. She earned her Master of Science in Social Work, Social Enterprise Administration from Columbia University School of Social work in 2015 and is a Licensed Master Social Worker.

Dominique is a member of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone and Western Paiute Tribe, and is also of Mexican descent. Dominique was born and raised in Hayward, California and received her Masters of Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of San Francisco in 2021. Dominique currently practices as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area providing services in English and Spanish. Dominique has experience working with adolescents and adults experiencing intrapersonal imbalances such as addiction issues, complex trauma, mood disorders, identity issues, interpersonal relationships, and more. As of June 13, 2023, Dominique will be certified as an EMDR trained clinician.

Dominique is passionate about improving the holistic wellbeing of clients through therapeutic relationships, expertise, and advocacy. Her career goal is to continue to develop clinical knowledge and cultural competency in order to effectively serve historically marginalized communities by providing mental health and case management services through a decolonized lens to address intergenerational trauma and systemic issues. Dominique honors the importance of traditional knowledge in regard to the health of Indigenous people, and plans to merge cultural traditions with psychological academia in efforts to help Indigenous populations access resources that will cultivate healthier, more connected relationships with community and themselves.